Television presenter Esther Rantzen, founder of childLine, is about to launch a new venture to tackle the huge problem of loneliness experienced by so many older people in our society.

Loneliness, said Ms Rantzen is "a creeping enemy" that saps older people's confidence. She told the Radio Times: "Something must be done to assure our older population that they are valued." She said they need to be assured that they are a resource and a "national treasure".

A national treasure herself, Ms Rantzen also warned that older people do not carry with them a sell-by-date or a point at which "older people become rubbish to be discarded, thrown away."

Research has found loneliness to be as destructive as smoking or obesity, both mentally and physically.

Ms Rantzen herself has experienced acute loneliness following the death in 2000 of her husband Desmond Wilcox, a TV documentary maker. She speaks first-hand of her ongoing experience of coming home to an empty flat.

"...nobody to ask about my day, nobody to make a cup of tea for. Nobody to sit on the sofa with to watch the latest reality show.”

The Silver Line is to provide a 24-hour service of volunteers to be available to counsel and advise older people, who have found themselves isolated and who might like to be involved in their communities.